Of Magic And Soldiers
by DoubleMMia
Summary: The Hawkes had been a happy family that faced their problems and ran away from them. Hawke may be Champion of Kirkwall now but in Lothering? She was something more. A daughter and a sister. Hawke/Carver, Hawke/Bethany, Hawke/Leandra and Hawke/Malcolm


"Don't you want to be normal?" Bethany asked quietly with an odd expression on her face as she watched her older sister light up her palm with fire in their room. "Like Carver I mean. Though without the hot-headedness."

Hawke scoffed at her, that usual broody look that was almost always on her older sibling's face making Bethany giggle quietly to herself.

"I am normal Bethany." Hawke replied with a cold manner; getting up from where she sat to sit at her desk in their room - cunning hands gripping onto a quill and starting to write against the thin sheet of paper. "And if I wanted to be like Carver then all I'd have to do is grab a sword and start chopping at people. Quite simple really."

Bethany was unable to keep herself from laughing at her older sister, skipping over to where her sister sat and placing her head on Hawke's shoulder with a smile. "You know something? I wouldn't mind being normal like Carver. I could do anything I wanted then!"

When Hawke smirked at her slightly in return at her comment, Bethany felt an odd sort of pride at being able to make her older sister smile when others like Carver and Mother couldn't - it was one of those things that Bethany never really understood about her older sister. Her lack of smile.

Bethany was pretty sure Hawke's smile could light up the whole of the Chantry at Solstice and make the stars jealous; if she only smiled more!

"You're only twelve Bethany so I don't think you'd be allowed to do everything you want," Hawke chided a few moments afterwards, though to Bethany's delight that smirk was still on her sister's face. "Though I'm sure Mother wouldn't mind if I offered you some dust later…"

At the hint of lyrium Bethany scowled and folded her arms. "You're not allowed to give me lyrium without telling Father! Are you trying to get me into trouble?"

The quill that Hawke had been writing with stopped and all of a sudden Bethany was greeted with her frowning sister; the image sending warning bells that she had somehow managed to upset her sister without her even realizing.

Hawke tilted her head at her for a moment, regarding her with interesting before speaking once more. "You're normal too Beth. Just because we possess this power doesn't mean we're abnormal or anything." Bethany watched silently as Hawke put quill to paper again. "If anything, we're gifted."

Bethany quirked a brow at that, choosing to sit on the stool that was next to Hawke's desk with her chin resting in the palms of her hands. "If we're gifted then why are we hunted by the templars?"

Hawke didn't bother looking at her this time. "Because they're afraid of us, of what we can do without even knowing so. It's our gift and our burden Bethany and we should never abandon it."

Bethany sighed at the scratch, scratch of Hawke's quill. "You always say that Phoenix! Every time!"

"If it bothers you then stop asking me!" Her sister snapped in response, the sharp sounds of the quill digging into the paper making Bethany pout at being ignored for some stupid piece of writing. "Now if you don't mind I'm busy writing this."

Bethany tried her hardest not to whine at her sister but found out quite quickly that she had already failed at doing that anyway. "Hawke! You said you'd teach me how to do that light trick Father showed you!"

"I lied. Now beat it welp!" Hawke ordered with an angry growl, cursing crossly as the ink she had been using started to get all over her hands due to her clumsiness. "I've got to get this finished before Father's birthday."

"But Hawke…" Bethany let herself trail off with what she hoped was a convincing whimper, getting up from her stool to rest her head on her sister's shoulder once more. "You _promised!_"

For a long while Hawke ignored Bethany's presence altogether, fingers still wrapped fiercely around the quill and the scratching noise is enough to make Bethany want to grab the silly quill and chuck it at her sister's head because she's just not listening to her!

So Bethany grabbed a lock of Phoenix's hair and tugged roughly, letting go with a squeak and rushing towards her bed to hide under the covers with another little squeak escaping her when she heard Hawke's chair scrape back against the wooden floor.

Close footsteps made Bethany shudder slightly as they became louder and louder each time she let a breath escape her, wrapping the thin blanket around her to try and block out Hawke's footsteps. It was better if she didn't know where her sister was so she wouldn't freak out.

Something was pressed onto her shoulder that felt remarkably like Phoenix's hand, warm and comforting - everything her older sister wasn't.

"Beth you're twelve years old!" Hawke scolded her once again, sounding almost perfectly like Father when he was cross at her. "Stop tugging my hair and acting like a brat when you don't get things the way you want it! You're acting like _Carver_."

Bethany tries her best to ignore the scolding tone of Hawke by letting her face peek out from behind the covers she was hiding under, meeting Hawke's eyes with a sheepish smile. "Does this mean you'll teach me?"

Hawke glared down at her for a good full minute before giving in with a sigh that sounded so painful it made Bethany grin.

"Fine. But don't tell Carver or he'll throw stones at me for not playing with him." Because that was the job of every fifteen year old sister obviously. And Carver hated being left out.

"Okay! Thanks sister! You're the best!" And Bethany truly meant it too, she loved her older sister and loved being around her even though said older sister was a moody person who preferred to be alone most of the time.

Hawke hid her smirk too late as she answered, "do you want to be normal now Beth? We wouldn't be spending this time together if you weren't apparently abnormal."

Bethany stuck her tongue out, feeling light-headed all of a sudden.

She truly can't think of a better thing to do today than spend her time with her older sister and that was something no templar could ever take away from her.


End file.
